KENNESAW STATE AT LIPSCOMB
GAMES 52-54 | MAY 16-18, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn. | DUGAN FIELD (1,500)
GAME NOTES |
LIVE STATS |
LIVE AUDIO
THE SERIES:
The Kennesaw State baseball team wraps-up the 2013 regular season schedule this weekend, heading to Nashville, Tenn. for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series against the Bison of Lipscomb.
After clinching a spot in the A-Sun Tournament with a three-game sweep over USC Upstate, the Owls are looking to ride out their four-game win streak to end the regular season, currently sitting at 26-25 overall and 13-11 in the conference.
The three-game stretch will start off this Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. ET. Game two on Friday will also see a 7 p.m. start time with Saturday’s getaway-day game taking place at 2 p.m.
THE COVERAGE
AUDIO: Play-by-play will be available from KSUOwls.com with Brandon Scardigli narrating the action from Dugan Field.
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of the game.
THE OPPONENT
Lipscomb enters the final series of the season on a high note, having won six out of its last seven games, including a series win over Jacksonville this past weekend, now holding a 21-31 overall record and a 10-14 mark in the A-Sun.
The Bison hare hitting just .259 as a team and do not have an individual player batting above .300.
With a .972 fielding percentage, Lipscomb does sit at No. 2 in the A-Sun in that category.
THE SERIES
KSU currently leads the all-time series over Lipscomb, 12-6, with the Owls taking three out of the last five. In last year’s series, however, it was Lipscomb who came out on top, taking two-out-of-three.
LAST OUTING
With a walk-off single from catcher
Max Pentecost, the Kennesaw State baseball team guaranteed its spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Postseason Tournament, completing the series sweep over USC Upstate with a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.
Pentecost (Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow HS) sent a single through the left side in the bottom of the 10
th inning, scoring
Andy Almonte (Moca, Puerto Rico/Gordon College) who reached on an error to start off the inning before scoring the game-winning run for KSU (26-25, 13-11 A-Sun).
The win was the first this season in extra innings for KSU and the second A-Sun series sweep after the Owls took all three games from Northern Kentucky earlier this season.
James Connell (Roswell, Ga./Georgia Perimeter College) got his first win of the year on the mound after going one inning allowing just one hit and striking out one, giving Connell two saves and a win to his name over the past four games.
In relief,
Travis Bergen (McDonough, Ga./Woodland HS),
Catlan Kendrick (Sharpsburg, Ga./Northgate HS),
Andrew Austin (Peachtree City, Ga./Air Force),
Justin McCalvin (Leesburg, Ga./Lee County HS) and Connell combined to go the final 6.2 innings allowing just three hits and striking out eight to lead the Owls to victory.
Offensively,
Alex Liquori (Brooks, Ga./Whitewater HS) was the only Owl with multiple hits, earning three of the team’s nine with two RBI and two runs scored off of a triple and a pair of singles. Almonte,
Bo Way (Brunswick, Ga./Glynn Academy) and Pentecost each drove in a run as well with Almonte and Way each also stealing a base.
NEXT UP
The Owls will head down to DeLand, Fla. to take part in the A-Sun Postseason Tournament hosted by Stetson starting on Wednesday, May 22 through Sunday, May 26. KSU can be anywhere from the No. 5 seed to the No. 7 seed pending the final weekend of play.
NEWS AND NOTES
Janas on the Mound
Stephen Janas (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter HS) continues his reign atop the A-Sun in terms of ERA with a 0.81 mark. The average also puts the junior at No. 3 nationally as the right-hander holds an 8-0 record on the year and is 7-0 in his last seven outings. Janas is currently on pace to shatter the A-Sun single-season ERA mark of 1.20 that was sent in 1995 by Joe Burns of FIU.
Solid Week
Bo Way and James Connell each had a week to remember, Way hitting .500 with a homer and Connell picking up two saves and a win in his three appearances as the Owls went 4-0.
McGowan’s Good Eye
Chris McGowan has one of the best eyes in the A-Sun, drawing 33 walks in 166 at bats, giving him an on-base percentage of .401.
Offense Heating Up
The Owls are now batting .280 as a team after putting up 11 hits in three out of the team’s four games this past week.
In the Field
In the field, the Owls hold a .964 fielding percentage and have turned 49 double plays, the most in the Atlantic Sun Conference and the 24th most in the nation.
The Bullpen
With a 3.70 team ERA, the KSU pitching staff now holds the third lowest bullpen ERA in the A-Sun and is one of the top 100 in the nation.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
